BOISE, Idaho (CBS2) — Boise's Cathedral of the Rockies Methodist Church is in the process of taking down a stained glass window that depicts Confederate general Robert E. Lee.
"An action like this for some will always be too quick and for others will always be too late. We would confess we are too late to the conversation," said Rev. Duane Anders, Senior Pastor at Cathedral of the Rockies. "We covered it up today because again it's our first attempt to say to others we recognize the pain this image causes and we want to stop that pain immediately."
The stained glass window, depicting Robert E Lee alongside Abraham Lincoln and George Washington has been a part of the church since the '60s.
"The community has pushed us and said you often speak for Black Lives Matter. You often speak that all means all but your building right now does not match your witness," said Anders.
Anders says Robert E. Lee's image goes against the church's mission to welcome everyone and sends the wrong message to the world.
"In the '50s and '60s these kinds of monuments went up to really say to part of America, you are not welcome," said Anders. "It made us look inwardly and confess our complicity and systemic racism and made us say we have to do better."
The removal of statues and monuments of Lee and other confederate figures has been a topic of conversation for a long time -- so why is the church just removing the window now?
"One of the challenges of privilege and dominant culture is it's often hard to hear a minority voice," said Anders. "It has taken us a while to hear the pain of the minority community here in this context and now again once we've heard it, we can't not respond."
For now, this section will be covered up by a sign, which reads 'we repent' as they work to remove and replace the image with someone else.
"Harriet Tubman's been suggested. There was a bishop that was the first African American woman bishop in the United Methodist Church who was elected in Boise and consecrated in this church, Bishop Leontine Kelly. Some suggested why wouldn't you put Leontine Kelly up there. Great suggestion," said Anders.
Anders says before that decision is made, the window will likely be replaced temporarily with a clear one.
"That will let some light in and it'll allow us to listen locally, globally to a national conversation," said Anders.
As for the original window --
"We will take it down intact," said Anders. "It will be given as a gift to the Idaho Black History Museum, so it can continue to be part of Idaho's history, part of our history and a teaching tool for other generations."
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